Litter of foxes born at Endangered Wolf Center

EUREKA — For the first time in 12 years, the Endangered Wolf Center is welcoming its first litter of swift foxes.

The suburban St. Louis center says the kits were born Mother's Day weekend. A "breeding trio" consisting of the mother, father and a second female will help raise the kits, a practice common in the wild but rare in captivity.

Swift foxes were once critically endangered but have made a comeback. The Endangered Wolf Center and other members of the Swift Fox Conservation Team have played a role in their rebirth, reintroducing the species to its historical range in Canada.